Just a couple of blocks off Main Street in Riverhead, in a former fire house, we found the newest member of the Riverhead craft beer scene, North Fork Brewing Company, joining Crooked Ladder, Moustache, and Long Ireland. We went there with our daughter and son-in-law, who are both beer lovers, and our two granddaughters, who sampled the home-made root beer for us. The junior members of our group rated the root beer as very good, with a nice licorice flavor, not too spicy, and “goes well with a grape lollypop.”

With four of us, we were able to sample all eleven brews currently on tap. If we had not just had lunch at Perabell (I recommend the thin-crust pizza.), we could have gotten tacos from a Mattitaco truck parked just outside the firehouse doors. They also sell North Fork potato chips.

This back area was roped off, but I assume they use it when the space becomes crowded.

The space is medium sized, and subscribes to the frequent brewery esthetic of industrial chic. I’ve noticed that many wineries evoke the rural scene around them, being housed in former barns or buildings that suggest farm structures, while breweries tend to be more factory-like, using repurposed car dealerships or firehouses or other industrial spaces. Not sure why that is, and of course it’s not true of them all.

Note the taps made from re-purposed firehouse lockers.

The very helpful and accommodating server explained to us that a flight consists of any four of their brews for $8. She handed out little cards on which we wrote down our choices. The four little glasses were carefully placed in a carrying tray with numbers corresponding to the number on the card of each choice. She noted that if we had trouble choosing, we could get a sip of the beers before deciding on our flight. However, with a little coordination, we realized that we could easily try all eleven. We gave up on a strict order of tastes, and there was no offer to suggest a succession, but we did generally try to go from lighter to heavier. (We overheard a server note that they carry Bridge Lane red and white blend wines, for those who would prefer not to drink a beer.)

Overall, we agreed that the beers were interesting and quite varied, though we didn’t like any one enough to take home a growler. Our son-in-law summed it up by noting that this was a good place to come to try lots of experimental beers, but most were too “in your face” to want a full glass to sip with a meal or on its own.

We have gotten take-out from Mattitaco several times, and liked every variety we’ve sampled so far.

Sticky Bandit IPA 6.9% ABV (alcohol by volume)

The brewery prides itself on acknowledging its North Fork roots, including literally, in that they have a farm where they grow much of their hops. This is a fresh, nicely hoppy IPA, with lots of grapefruit flavor. I could definitely see having this with one of Mattitaco’s fish tacos, like the seared tuna one on offer from the truck.

Run the Juice IPA 6.1% ABV

This tastes like a joint, said one of us (anonymously). It does have some vegetal notes, plus the grapefruit one expects in an IPA, in this case more like the pith than the fruit.

Pierce the Ale IPA 6.8% ABV

My daughter likes this the best so far of the IPAs, and said it would be refreshing on a hot day. I said it was like a better version of a Budweiser beer, easy to drink. This would also go well with a fish taco.

South Bend Shovel Slayer IPA 6.8% ABV

Some day I’ll have to come back and stand at the bar for my tastes so I can ask how they came up with some of these names. This is a piney rather than a grapefruity IPA, and my daughter liked this one as well.

Basement Pipe Belgian Dubbel 8.2% ABV

When we were in Belgium, I became very fond of the dubbel style of beer, which tends to be rich, with caramel and raisin flavors. I also like Raisin Bran cereal, which the taste of this reminded me of. Very good and refreshing. If I were to get a glass of a North Fork beer, this would be one contestant.

Take for Ever Sour 6.2% ABV

On the other hand, if I were given a glass of this, I would say thanks but no thanks. This is a dark, heavy sour beer, brewed with cherries, and tastes both sour and sweet. Last fall, I went to a brewery upstate that specialized in sour beers, and I never dumped so many tastes before. I say bleh, but, in a perfect illustration of how subjective and individual taste is, this is my son-in-law’s favorite.

Hop Contagion Imperial 8.25% ABV

Contagion indeed. This is very hoppy, and more bitter than I like, though balanced with some creaminess.

Dark Side of Maple Porter 6% ABV

My daughter and I both like this one, which reminds me of the glasses of bitter I have had in many English pubs. It is a bit on the light side for a porter. My daughter says she could see enjoying this with a serving of Shepherd’s pie, and I agree. Or maybe with the Mattitaco Ruben taco, made with corned beef.

Bill’s Hyper Local Forecast 5.9% ABV

I didn’t ask about this name, but I assume it refers to News 12’s tag line (this cable-company-sponsored channel specializes in Long Island news, traffic, and weather). The brewery characterizes this as a “winter warmer,” and it evokes a pumpkin ale, with tastes of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. A bit too much cinnamon, though not bad in a small dose.

They kept the firehouse doors, though you enter through a small door on the side. I wonder if they open these in the summer.

Dough’nt Stout MeNow Imperial Milk Stout 9.3%

I knew right away that I had to try this one, as it is made “in collaboration with North Fork Doughnut Company,” one of my favorite new businesses in Mattituck. I also tend to like stouts. This has rich chocolate tastes, and though my son-in-law characterizes it as “too sweet for a pint,” I wouldn’t mind sipping it in a pub, perhaps with an order of chips (a.k.a. French fries). We are so inspired by our discussion of the North Fork Doughnut Company that our guests stop there on the way home to pick up some doughnuts for breakfast the next day. One granddaughter, a Girl Scout, is delighted to get a Samoa doughnut, and the other is pleased to have snagged “the last chocolate doughnut!” Alas, they were out of the maple-glazed bacon flavor.

A Samoa doughnut from the North Fork Doughnut Company. Yum.

Iron Pier Porter 5.4% ABV

My husband and I just recently drove over to Iron Pier beach, on the Sound, within the bounds of Riverhead (so our Southold parking stickers are not valid there), and thought it seemed very nice, with a good-sized parking lot and a little playground. This porter is made with coconut milk, and though I often like porters, this was not a favorite. It has a slight metallic taste, which I likened to licking metal, perhaps the source of the name.

Reasons to visit: you’re making the rounds of the Riverhead breweries; you like to try a wide variety of styles and experimental tastes of beer; the Mattitaco truck; the Pierce the Ale, Basement Pipe, Dark Side of Maple, and Dough’nt Stout Me Now (though, for some people the choices might be quite different!); a pleasant place with generous pours.

Riverhead has become something of a mecca for craft beer, with at least five brewing companies as I write this: Crooked Ladder, Long Beard, Long Ireland, North Fork, and the subject of today’s blog, Moustache Brewing Company. I haven’t been to Long Beard and North Fork yet, and it’s been awhile since I’ve been to the others. Part of the problem is that they tend to keep limited hours, opening late in the afternoon and not opening during the week.

Many of the breweries have limited hours during the week.

However, in the spirit of Oktoberfest, we decided to brave the crowds of cars headed east on this partly sunny Saturday and check out Moustache, which we hadn’t visited since January 2016. Then, the tasting room was an alcove between huge tanks of brewing beer, with a short bar and limited table space. Now they have opened an actual tasting room, with a long bar and communal tables, located on the same hard-to-find industrial back street of Riverhead. Thank goodness for Google maps, or we’d still be wandering around.

That is the rather nondescript entrance to the tasting room on a nondescript back street in Riverhead.

We were quickly greeted by one of the two bearded men behind the bar (there’s also a woman, who does not have a beard), prompting me to ask if a moustache was a prerequisite for employment. Nope. He cheerily informed us that a tasting consisted of four five-ounce pours, took and held our credit card, and gave us two blue tickets for our second round of drinks. What was this tasting going to cost us? There was nary a sign. What would a glass or growler cost? No idea. They should post a price list. At the end our bill was $9.01 for our shared tasting. Why the one cent? With some embarrassment he confessed that they had tried to make the price something that would include tax and come out even, and had miscalculated.

The menu is posted high on the wall.

They also have boxes of Bridge Lane wines.

Meanwhile, we studied the menu, trying to decide what to get, and looked around the fairly full room. It was quite noisy. As we left we noted a limo and a multi-cycle waiting outside, so maybe part of the noise was because we had happened on two parties. By the way, they allow dogs, children, and outside food. According to the website they sell North Fork potato chips, but I saw nothing about that at the bar.

Beards are not required, but it seemed as though they were.

Our server told us that their signature beers were the porter and the brown ale, so we decided to start with those. There was no indication, either in print or from our server, in what order to drink the beers, even when we asked.

The Everyman’s Porter and the Milk & Honey brown ale.

Everyman’s Porter 4.5% ABV (alcohol by volume)

This dark brown quaff has a lovely aroma of grains. It is light for a porter and easy to drink, with a pleasant bitterness but no depth. I could see sipping this in a pub along with an order of steak and kidney pie, hold the kidneys.

Milk & Honey 6%

A slightly lighter brown than the porter, this tastes quite different. It has a faintly vegetal aroma and the taste has a touch of sweetness and what my husband describes as “cold metallic.” Nice carbonation. This would be fine to drink on its own, or with a hot dog with spicy mustard.

Sailor Mouth 6.5%

There are several IPAs on the menu, so we asked for descriptions of them. I tend not to like extremely hoppy IPAs, thus we settled on this one. As I recall, two years ago when we asked for the origin of the name, Lauri Spitz, the co-owner with her husband Matthew, told us that it was named for her and her, shall we say, command of the language. In any case, this is a good summer beer. It smells of Christmas trees and citrus, and the taste is also somewhat piney and not very fruity, though we also detect tastes of pineapple and grapefruit. It’s not really a beer you’d want to sip on its own, but it would go great with barbequed pulled pork.

Note the structure of the bar: There is a raised lip a few inches in from the edge, which, we speculated, might lead to spilled beer with some regularity.

Slow Claps 4.3%

Again, there were a couple of pale ales on the menu, so we asked for help in choosing this one. It is the closest to a regular American beer, the type you might drink while eating nachos and watching the Stupor Bowl (as I call it—I watch it for the commercials). It is pleasant and light, but not memorable. We had brought a growler with us in case we wanted to take anything home, but left it in the car. No need to retrieve it.

As we left we noted a limo and a multi-cycle, which probably accounted for the noisy groups inside. Groups need a reservation, by the way.

Reasons to visit: you like craft beers and are not afraid to navigate the back streets of Riverhead; all the beers are definitely easy to drink and pleasant, but, at least based on what we tried, we prefer Greenport Harbor.

But, you might ask, weren’t you at Greenport Brewery recently? Yes, we were, but we only sampled five of the many brews on offer, plus they’re always adding new ones. Besides, it was very hot, and a nice cool beer seemed like just the right drink for the day. And so it was.

The prints on the wall are for sale.

As we looked around the large room in the Peconic facility (their other tasting room is in Greenport), we discussed the interesting choice the brewery had made in the décor. After all, the building was built new to their specifications, but it has the look of an old, converted warehouse, with cement floors and exposed beams. We also paid attention to some of the art on offer, including prints by the designer of their creative labels, and a huge turtle up in the rafters made from upcycled beach flotsam and jetsam.

That’s a turtle up there, made from beach flotsam and jetsam.

In addition to art, you can also purchase t-shirts or bike shirts and growlers or cans to take home.

As before, we wrote down our choices of five beers from the menu of thirteen choices. $12 for the five samples. The server poured them in the order we listed them, and then, immediately understanding my request, numbered them in the order in which they should be tasted. That’s important, because a lighter tasting brew will seem tasteless if you have it after a heavier one.

We also decided to get one of their huge hot pretzels again, which comes with mustard and a warm cheese dipping sauce. We actually didn’t finish it, and barely had room for dinner! We saw one group of people offer their leftover pretzel to some strangers. One other note—they request and then hold onto your credit card until you return the panoply of glasses from your tasting.

Happy pretzel?

Summer Ale 5% % ABV (Alcohol by volume)

This is the perfect quaff for after you’ve been working in the garden on a hot summer day. It is light and citrusy, neither bitter nor sweet. The menu describes it as a blonde ale with honey. We decided another way to characterize it would be as tasting the way Budweiser should taste.

Our panoply of tastes. Be sure to follow the directions on how to lift and carry this.

Harbor Ale 5.3% ABV (Alcohol by volume)

They’ve been making this light ale ever since they opened, and I can see why. It’s a classic, not too hoppy, tasty ale. It has more flavor than the Summer Ale, but is still a relatively unchallenging beer. Also a good summer drink, it would go perfectly with barbequed hot dogs.

We were intrigued by Peconic Project’s cloudy look.

Peconic Project 8%

Why the name? Because it is actually brewed at the Peconic facility. This is an Imperial IPA, with aromas of nutmeg and flowers. We like it. It’s mellow, not heavy, with lemon rind and other citrus flavors. I’d happily drink this with a hot pastrami or corned beef on rye.

Otherside IPA 6.8%

This is my favorite of the day, a well-balanced IPA with just the right amount of bitterness and citrus. It is another beer that would go well with food, like the tacos I’m planning to make this weekend. Otherside, by the way, refers to the fact that the hops for this IPA come from the other side of the country, as in the west coast.

The place was fairly quiet on this midweek afternoon, but we have been here when it was so crowded you couldn’t get in the door.

The Holy Black Lager 5.4%

Described on the menu as a “Schwartzbier,” which simply means black beer, this is relatively light for a dark brew. If you are looking for a Guinness analog, this is not for you. On the other hand, it is summer, so a relatively light dark beer might be fine. I detect both an aroma and a flavor of coffee, plus something vegetal. I get into a brief conversation with some of the brewers who are hanging out at the bar, sampling their wares, and they say something about making this beer in cooperation with “our friends at The Holy Black”?

Looking into the restaurant half. You give your order and pay at the counter and they give you an electronic gizmo that vibrates violently when your order is ready to be picked up.

Reasons to visit: you like beer; the chance to try a variety of interesting brews; a restaurant with both snacks and more substantial fare on offer; you can bring your dog to the outside beer garden or the bar, but not the restaurant section; the Harbor Ale and the Otherside IPA; you can fill a growler to take home.

“Well, we’ll just have to come back,” we decided, after sharing one tasting of Greenport Harbor beers left us feeling we’d had enough for one day. It was finally warm enough to feel that beer should be the drink of choice, so we headed to Greenport Harbor’s large facility on the corner of Peconic Lane and Main Road. They also have a smaller tasting room in the village of Greenport.

Two views of the bar tasting room. Note pooch. They are allowed in this room and outside, but not in the restaurant.

This place is quite large, though it does fill up on summer weekends, with two rooms. The first one is for ordering beer and tastings, with a side area of GH-related gifts, and the second one is a restaurant area, where dogs are not allowed. So if you want to get food, be sure you have someone to hang onto your pooch either in the first room or outside while you do so.

The restaurant room is also roomy.

The counter where you order food, plus the beers they have at that spot.

Food menu

You may remember that I noted one could do a walking/drinking tour on Peconic Lane, and end up at GH. There, you can spend some time sitting outside in the Adirondack chairs or at a picnic table and have lunch. They have quite an extensive menu of snacks and real food, from the Űber Pretzel for $11.50 to salads, sandwiches, and a lobster roll for $25. You order at the counter and they give you a square object which vibrates quite violently when your food is ready to be picked up. We got the Űber Pretzel, which was quite large, very hot, and came with mustard and a warm cheese dipping sauce. Not bad, but it lacked the yeasty bite of a New York City street pretzel. Too soft and sweet for me—but we devoured it anyway.

You also order your beer at a counter, where you can get a tasting of five beers for $12 or glasses or growler fills for varying prices. The tasting comes in pretty little bell-shaped glasses which fit into a whale-shaped carrier (GH used to sell you the glass, which you then filled with your choice of beers. We have quite a collection.). You leave your credit card with the server, who returns it and charges your account when you return the glasses. Clever. We saw quite a few people carrying their tasting outside or to a table over on the restaurant side of the place. We also saw many people just getting glasses of beer and sitting and sipping. Kids were throwing a Frisbee around outside.

The rather extensive beer menu.

We stood at the bar and studied the beer menu, which consists of fifteen choices divided into three categories: Year Round, Limited Release, and The OG (Original Greenport) Series. Within these categories there are various styles, including lagers, ales, IPAs, stouts, bocks, and a Berliner Weisse. How to choose? The server gave us a slip of paper and a pen, and told us to write down our choices. So we did, going for a variety of styles, writing them down in the order in which we happened to choose them. (By the way, you can also buy their beers in cans and bottles, often available at local grocery stores and beer distributors.)

Beers available in cans, but note, no consumption of the cans or growlers while you’re there.

Then she carefully filled the glasses in the order in which we had written them, and returned our slip of paper with instructions to drink them “from head to tail of the whale.” Wait a second. We had started by choosing a porter, and our last choice was a brown ale. Surely that was not the order in which one should drink them!? She was very happy to write down the best sequence, and as we sipped we decided she had been quite right. So be forewarned—be sure to ask that question. As in a wine tasting, order matters. You don’t want to go from a heavy porter to a light lager, or the lager will taste like nothing. I think one change GH should make is to automatically have servers point that out.

Our list, with her added re-numbering for the order in which to drink them.

Tidal Lager 5.3% ABV

The ABV percentage is something you see next to each beer, and it refers to “alcohol by volume.” It is listed because beers can vary widely in how alcoholic they are, from, in the case of our choices, 5% to 9.4%. Tidal Lager is described as a “Vienna Lager,” a particular style of lager you can look up on the web. This version of it is quite light, though also very tasty, with notes of toast and oatmeal cookies. This is a good summer beer, nice for sipping on the deck on a hot day.

Our tasting, which was plenty to drink for the two of us.

Maibock 7% ABV

We asked our server about this one, as we were contemplating what to choose, and she launched into a mini-essay on how good it is and how much she likes it. I can see why. I described it as a “classic good beer,” full-bodied but not heavy. My husband said it was “toasty and creamy.” It has a touch of sweetness, and would go great with spicy grilled sausages (maybe some of the sausages from 8 Hands Farm).

Hopnami 9.4% ABV

If you like a really hoppy, grapefruity IPA, this is the beer for you. We don’t. It tastes more like a breakfast juice than a beer, and smells like grapefruit juice, too. And I think it’s a bit dangerous, because you could easily guzzle it down—and look at the ABV!

There are some interesting non-alcoholic drinks available as well.

Black Duck Porter 5% ABV

It was easy to decide to taste this one, since it is one of our favorites. We’ve bought it in bottles from our local supermarket but, no surprise, it tastes better fresh on tap. This is a lovely dark beer, with tastes of coffee and chocolate. As we sipped, we reminisced about our favorite pubs in England and Ireland. It would go great with shepherd’s pie or a nice lamb stew (hold the mushy peas).

Kettle Cookies and Coffee Oatmeal Brown Ale 5.3% ABV

I had to try this one, since it is made with NoFoRoCo (North Fork Roasting Company) coffee. And yes, it smells and tastes like coffee, like a good espresso with just a touch of sugar. However, I don’t think I would enjoy a whole glass of this. It barely seems like a beer. Between this and Hopnami, you could have quite the boozy breakfast.

Reasons to visit: good beer in an expansive setting; nice menu of sandwiches, etc., which, they boast, are often made with local ingredients; the Tidal Lager, Maibock, and Black Duck Perter; generous pour for a tasting; you can fill your growler and take some home; live music sometimes; fun t-shirts. We’ll be back to try some more. I calculate we need to come at least two more times to try all fifteen!

Another view of the expansive lawn

This was sitting by the entrance. I assume it is some piece of “antique” brewing equipment, which fits with the North Fork aesthetic of old farm equipment as lawn ornaments.

We decided to take a trip north to see art museums and galleries, visit relatives, and take some hikes in the beautiful Hudson Valley countryside. No surprise, we also made time for some tastings, visiting one brewery and two wineries.

Storm King and DIA Beacon have both been on my bucket list for a while, so now I can cross them off. Both are well worth the visit, Storm King in particular (but be sure to go when the weather is nice, and try to arrive early in the day). We also enjoyed sauntering up and down Beacon’s main street, popping in and out of little galleries and antique/gift shops. The Roundhouse Hotel is pricey for the area, but comfortable and well run.

One view from Storm King.

Another place worth traveling to is Innisfree Garden in Millbrook, New York, where we hiked around the lake with my brother and sister-in-law. It’s a beautiful place, with the garden aspects integrated into the natural landscape, providing scenic views at every turn. And if you’re in Kingston, you should make time for the Maritime Museum, with its emphasis on the history of the boats and industries along the Hudson River.

Innisfree Garden, an amazingly beautiful place.

Our final hike of the week was in the John Boyd Thacher State Park outside Albany, where the scenery reminded us very much of the movie Last of the Mohicans starring Daniel Day-Lewis. Alas, we did not see him running bare-chested through the trees. If you go, be sure to stop into the new visitor center.

Finding the brewery was a bit of a challenge, as it is located in the midst of a huge parking lot behind an apartment building, and only a small sign on the door indicates that you have arrived. We walked past before they opened, and then when we returned there were picnic tables set up outside and the garage-style door had been swung open. Inside, it is very industrial chic, reminding us that Beacon is sometimes referred to as “Brooklyn north.” The bar is not very long, so we decided to take our tastes to a picnic table across from it. We would have sat outside, but all those tables were filled, primarily with a young crowd.

Industrial chic room

They offer eight different beers, a four-ounce pour in attractive stemmed glasses at $2-$3 per taste. The chipper server informed us that they only give two tastes per person per time at the bar, so we each took two and then returned for the final four. We left our credit card to run a tab, thinking we would get a whole glass of whichever beer we liked best, but as it happened there were none we liked enough to get a glass of. Their beers generally have a sour, fruity flavor profile, which is not a taste I like.

Pillow Hat IPA

The aroma is very grapefruity, with a touch of something funky. The taste is super citrusy, and it is the kind of beer I could see downing on a hot day after working in the garden.

Our second group of tastes

Feel No Way Pilsner

Cement basement aroma, with a touch of sauerkraut. The taste is sour, oaty and grainy, and reminds my husband of Kix cereal!

Little Memory IPA

This one also smells like grapefruit juice, plus pineapple juice. I dislike it so much that we don’t finish the taste. It is sour but also fruity.

Plateaux IPA

Okay, this one we decide is like a beery orange juice or an over the hill cider that has gone sour. If you don’t actually like beer, you might drink this with a burger.

Our first group of tastes

Amulet Sour Farmhouse

Blueberry pie aroma? Certainly fruity. The taste reminds me of very sour candy. I say bleh; my husband says maybe after a run. I’d rather drink water in that case!

Flying Colors Sour Farmhouse

By this time, we have invested $2 in a bag of cracked pepper and sea salt chips, which helps us get through the tasting. This is another fruity-tooty beer, and rather sweet. As we discuss the tastes, my tasting buddy comments that we are treating this more like a wine tasting in terms of all the aromas and flavors we are finding, which is true.

Phase Delay Sour Farmhouse

This one smells like an IPA, very citrusy, and tastes rather like sucking on a lemon. Super sour, say my notes. At least this one is not objectionably sweet, and is drinkable if what you want is a beer-like lemonade.

Silhouette Brunch Style Sour Beer

Their own tasting notes compare this to a Tropicana juice box, though I again think it resembles a sweet and sour lemonade. I find it barely potable, and, as with several of the other beers, we don’t finish our taste.

There are snacks one can buy. Our little bag of chips cost $2.

Reasons to visit: you’re in Beacon and you want to go to a beer tasting (but I wish we had tried the other brewery in town); you don’t actually like beer that tastes like beer. That evening we had dinner at a nice Thai restaurant on Main Street which had Singha beer on tap, and much preferred that to any of the beers we had at Hudson Valley.

Finding Benmarl Winery would also have been a challenge, if not for Google maps, which easily directed us to this mountain-top site, about twenty minutes outside of Beacon. They are part of the Shawangunk Wine Trail (who knew?), which includes about fifteen wineries along the Shawangunk Mountains. We considered visiting one or two more, but many of them were closed on Monday, and others were a bit further than we wanted to venture on this rainy, foggy afternoon.

Resident kitty

Benmarl has a pleasantly rustic tasting room, and the servers were enthusiastic and chatty. Outside we noted a large tent set-up, and learned that the day before they had had a special grape-stomping event. Oh my. Our server informed us that “Benmarl” means “Hill of Slate,” and the farm is allegedly the “oldest vineyard in America.” On their 37 acres they grow Baco Noir, Cabernet Franc, and Muscat, then get the rest of their grapes from the Finger Lakes and…Long Island! The North Fork, to be exact. Ha. I had said as we were on our way there that I was interested in comparing their wines to Long Island wines, but, no surprise, they tasted rather familiar.

For $10 you get to try six (out of 17 or more—they were out of some) of their wines, and since the pour was rather small for a shared tasting and I was curious to try it, we paid an additional couple of dollars to try the Baco Noir. If you want to keep your glass, your tasting is $12.

There were lots of options on the menu.

2016 Sauvignon Blanc $20

The grapes for this wine are from the North Fork, and it has the characteristic honeysuckle aroma and a taste that combines citrus and minerality. Good, though a tad sweeter than I like.

2016 Stainless Steel Chardonnay $15

Our server told us about how she likes to recommend this wine to anyone who insists they don’t like chardonnay, since what they don’t like is probably the oak-aged buttery California style of chard. We agree, and like this citrusy light white, with flavors of gooseberry and mineral. Quite pleasant. We buy a bottle, which matches well with a pasta and salmon dish my sister-in-law makes for us when we arrive at their house. These grapes are from Seneca Lake.

2016 Traminette $18

This is one of their sweeter wines, but not cloyingly so, with a candy aroma and some tropical fruit tastes. I could see having it with spicy food. Finger Lakes grapes.

2016 Merlot $20

As we switch to the reds, she gives the glass a quick rinse with some of the wine. This, I observe, tastes very like a North Fork merlot. Not surprisingly, since that is where the grapes come from. You can smell the oak (aged 16 months in French oak) and cherry, and it also has lots of cherry taste, plus maybe a bit of tobacco.

2015 Slate Hill Red $20

A Bordeaux blend, this is 48% North Fork merlot, 42% Finger Lakes cabernet franc, and 10% North Fork cabernet sauvignon, aged 12 months in French oak. The aroma is fruity, but also mushroomy, with a hint of something chemical—but that may be due to the cellar, the door to which was opened behind us as we stood there, and from which emanated a basement/chemical smell. In any event, we didn’t much care for this wine, which had a sour aftertaste and not a lot of fruit.

2014 Proprietor’s Reserve $33

Another blend, this is 30% North Fork merlot, 20% Finger Lakes cabernet franc, and 50% North Fork cabernet sauvignon, aged 24 months. We like it much better than the Slate Hill. It has lots of fruit—dark plums, cherry, blackberry, coffee—and is pleasantly tannic and dry.

2015 Baco Noir $35

I really wanted to try a wine made from estate-grown grapes, and this is all theirs, from vines first planted in 1958. The aroma is great, with lots of fruit, very plummy, but the taste does not have as much fruit as the smell promised. It is dry and tannic, but not particularly complex.

Reasons to visit: you are traveling up the Hudson Valley and want to do a wine tasting; the sauvignon blanc, stainless steel chardonnay, merlot, and Proprietor’s Reserve; pretty reasonable prices for a small winery; beautiful mountain setting; you want to support a winery that practices “sustainable” agriculture, with no spraying.

After the flatness of Long Island, it was refreshing to be in the Catskill Mountains. We enjoyed the various vistas as we traveled the back roads with my brother and sister-in-law to this winery with its spectacular views over the hills. Although we felt we had gone rather far off the “beaten path,” a busload of tourists who arrived shortly after we did showed us that we were not as isolated as it had seemed. Fortunately, Millbrook is well set up to handle a crowd, and we enjoyed our tasting.

This is only one small part of the winery’s space.

Our bright and well-informed server informed us that John S. Dyson, the founder of the vineyard, was responsible for the “I (heart) NY” logo, which also appears on their glasses (which you get to keep after your tasting). In addition to the property in Millbrook, the winery also owns vineyards in California (fortunately so far not affected by the fires) and Italy, which expands the varieties of wine they can offer. One challenge of growing wines this far north is the winter. They can get temperatures as low as minus fourteen, and anything lower than minus five can give certain grape vines trouble.

A couple of the wines we did not get to try.

The shop has a few items, many from Italy.

The Millbrook building is large and attractive, with various areas, including an upstairs lounge and balcony, where one can (and we did) take a bottle or glasses and look out over the scenery while sipping. Not all of their wines are available for tasting every day, and on this week day our only option was the Portfolio Tasting, of six wines for $12.50. You pay the cashier when you enter, and then are assigned a spot at one of the bars.

2016 Hunt Country White $16

This is their white blend, a mixture of riesling, tocai friulano, traminette, and pinot grigio, some of which comes from California. The aroma is of apricots and minerals, and it tastes quite good, of peaches and melon, with a nice long finish. My brother characterizes it as a “backyard wine,” and my sister-in-law says she has “no complaints.”

2016 Tocai Friulano Proprietor’s Special Reserve $18

According to our server, Millbrook was the first winery in the United States to grow this particular grape, which is related to sauvignon blanc. We like it very much, with its aroma of roasted pears and soft tastes of pears and red grapefruit. I think it is softer than an Italian tocai, which is flintier, but we like it enough to buy a bottle to take home.

I peeked into a room where they store wine.

2015 Chardonnay $18

Just when I think I’ll finally get to compare an upstate chard with a North Fork chard, we are told that one third of the grapes for this wine come from Pellegrini Vineyard on the North Fork! Other grapes come from the Finger Lakes and from Millbrook’s estate. In any event, it is a typical not-too-oaky oaked chardonnay.

2014 Villa Pillo Borgoforte $19

In case you’re wondering about the Italian name, it comes from Millbrook’s Italian vineyard near San Gimignano, a fascinating town not far from Florence. This, we are told, is a “Super Tuscan,” (whenever I hear that term I picture a wine bottle with a heroic cape flying out behind it), a blend of sangiovese, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot grapes. In any event, it is delicious, with lovely fruit aromas and complex tastes including dark fruits, tobacco, and more. It is dry and tannic, and we buy two bottles, one to give to my other brother and another to bring to our daughter’s house when we go there for dinner.

Italian wine in a New York State winery? Yes, when the owner of the winery also owns property in Tuscany.

Hunt Country Red $18

Since this is their blend, it changes year to year, and the current iteration is a mix of 55% cabernet franc, 40% merlot, and 5% syrah, with again some grapes coming from California. The server says he defines this wine as a wine to have on “any day that ends with a y.” Ha. It is their top selling red, and we can see why, as it is an easy to drink, fruity red, with lots of cabernet franc flavors like blueberry and plums. I say a good pizza wine, and my brother says “good with stuff.”

Looks like a hunt on the label…

2013 Merlot Proprietor’s Special Reserve $25

Pellegrini strikes again—all the grapes for this wine are from there. We decide this is a wine that needs to be served with food, and just then our server brings out a little plate of bread cubes and olive oil (which they just happen to sell there). Definitely better with food, but still rather earthy, with a chemical basement smell. Not our favorite.

We had the upstairs lounge to ourselves.

The view from the upstairs balcony

Reasons to visit: you are in the Catskills and you’d like to find a nice winery for a tasting; the Tocai Friulano, the Villa Pillo Borgoforte, the Hunt Country Red; a pleasant outdoor upstairs balcony where you can sip a glass of wine while looking at beautiful scenery.

We’d been watching the sign on Sound Avenue as it kept reading “Coming Soon,” so when we saw that Jamesport Farm Brewery, the newest brewery in town, was open for tastings, we wanted to check it out. Then when visitors arrived at our house who appreciate both wine and beer, we knew it was time. So off we went, up the bumpy road and past a somewhat misleading sign that seems to send you left when the tasting room is on the right. The parking lot and surrounding area is still a work in progress, but the tasting room is quite ready for guests, and so is the expansive lawn outside, where children romped and groups clustered around umbrella tables with pints of beer. A food truck offered lunch items, but we headed into the large room and sauntered up to the bar. We were glad we had arrived early, since by the time we left there was a line for the bar.

The menu on a large chalkboard offers seven different beers, plus a couple of ciders from Riverhead Cider House and a Palmer chardonnay. A tasting of four is $10; pints are $6 each, and you can also refill your growler for $15 ($5 for the bottle). We decided to get two tastings so we could try all the beers, with one member of the group preferring Captain Cook’s Razzmatazz for his choice. That’s a raspberry-flavored cider that he liked but tastes to me like flavored children’s medicine. In general, we liked the beers, but felt that they were somewhat ordinary. A small brewery could take more chances with at least some of their brews.

Our server was enthusiastic and friendly, offering her opinions on our choices and suggesting an order in which to taste them which was not exactly the order on the board, and we felt she did a good job. The beers list the alcohol content, which can vary quite a bit. Each serving fills a small glass. By the way, the word “farm” in the name of the brewery is not just for decoration: many of the ingredients for the beers—and in some cases all the ingredients—are grown on the premises. they grow hops and barley, among other ingredients. You can take a tractor-drawn tour to check out the farm, $15 with a pint and $10 without one, and we saw a group heading out for one as we left. Even the bar is built using locally sourced recycled materials!

Haybaler 5.4

An American pale ale made from 90% homegrown ingredients, this first choice was a not complex, light, slightly citrusy ale. Our friend said she could see drinking it on the beach, as it would be a pleasant hot weather quaff.

One of the offerings in the gift shop.

Sound Avenue Summer 5.5

With this blonde ale we had a difference of opinion. Our friend said if she had a pint of this she wouldn’t finish it, while I liked its yeasty, honey, bready taste. I opined that it would make “a good breakfast beer,” while she said it was not “beery” enough.

Rows ‘n Hoes 6.6

When we inquired as to the name, our server chuckled and said it fit with “the farm theme,” adding that this was a “smooth” IPA than the Northville, which we tasted next to it. It uses all New York State-sourced ingredients. We detected tastes of smoke and tobacco, and found it not as hoppy as one would expect from an IPA, and more like an ale. Again, we had a difference of opinion, as I liked it more than my friend did. However, she said she could see drinking it with braised beef, where its bitterness would complement the richness of the dish.

Food truck menu

Northville IPA 5.2

“Beer,” opined my friend, “should have a beery taste.” And this one did, meeting with general approval as having a hoppy, grassy, citrusy taste. She also said it reminded her of a Session ale. Because it was brewed specially for the grand opening, it may not always be available. Breweries do tend to vary their offerings by the season, and our server told us that their pumpkin ale would be arriving soon. Of course.

Our favorite local pickles: try “Dill Death do us Part.”

Ribbit Red Ale 6.3

This is made by a different brewery which shares the premises with Jamesport, called Tweaking Frog. We had a discussion over whether New York State would allow Tweaking Frog to use the word tweaking, since you’re not allowed to use names for alcoholic products which imply that they will affect your take on reality (or something like that). In any event, this American Amber/Red ale is heavy on the yeast, with a slightly caramelized flavor, almost malty. I like it and my friend didn’t dislike it.

Ex-Wife 5.8

Apparently, the ex-wife is bitter, because this is an “Extra Special Bitter,” also made by Tweaking Frog. It does leave a bitter taste, but is surprisingly light for a bitter. Our friend who is drinking the raspberry cider likes this one.

Barnswallow Brown 5.3

My favorite of the day, this is a Brown Ale that is sweet and dark, with a burnt toast aroma and chocolate flavor. I prefer a heavier dark beer, like Guinness, but this would do. If I were getting a pint, this is what I would choose.

Reasons to visit: you want to check out the new brewery in town; tractor tours; a pleasant place to hoist a pint, especially the outside area; you have dogs or children in tow; Greenport Harbor is full; the Northville IPA and the Barnswallow Brown, plus the Haybaler if it is a hot day; a nice gift shop where you can buy the equipment to make your own beer.

You can buy a kit and learn to make your own beer, but beware–many owners of breweries started this way!